Pin-equipped holder for pencils and the like



Dec. 17, 1963 o. w. CHILDRESS PIN-EQUIPPED HOLDER FOR PENCILS AND THELIKE Filed June 22, 1961 Owen W Chi/dress INVENTOR.

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United States Patent 3,114,183 'PIN-EQUIPPED HOLDER FOR PEN CILS ANDLIKE Gwen W. (Thiidress, Waynesboro, Va., assignor to Randolph P.Harrison, Waynesboro, Va. Filed June 22, 1961, Ser. No. 118,938 2Claims. (CI. 2413) The present invention relates to a pin-equippedholder for relatively small miscellaneous articles such as, for example,pencils, pens, corsages, scarfs, handkerchiefs, badges and so on, thesame being such in construction that it may be readily attached to theusers clothing.

The invention relates, somewhat more particularly stated, to a holderwhich may be readily placed in a desired position on garment orequivalent support means therefor comprising holding means adapted toremovably embrace the article (pencil for example) with which it is'connectible, at least one substantially rigid pin having one end joinedto said holding means and the other end free to pierce and retain itselfon the support means, and a safety-type clasp carried by the holdingmeans and provided with a self-applying and releasing guard normallycooperable with said free end.

In carrying out a preferred embodiment of the invention the clasp abovereferred to comprises a flexible resilient finger which is opposed toand spaced from the complemental pin and which has a free projectibleand retractible end carrying the aforementioned guard, said guard beingparticularly novel in that it is specially shaped to achieve the endresults desired and has an opening providing a keeper into which thepointed end of the pin is safely and fully projected when in its normalsafeguarded position.

A further improvement resides in the several component parts brieflytouched upon and wherein the holder comprises a sleeve or a band toencircle and embrace the article which is removably fitted and heldtherein. Further novelty is predicated on shaping and arranging thecomponents of the guard to achieve a novel pressure responsive andcamming effect at the time the pointed end of the pin is stuck in placeand pushed home and also when it is caught hold of and forciblyWithdrawn.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction andarrangement wherein, if desired, two pins instead of one, may beutilized, the finger and guard means for the pointed ends beingaccordingly constructed to accommodate the pin-ends.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective showing the improved pin-equippedholder and illustrating it in the manner in which it is used as a pencilholder;

FIGURE 2 is a view showing the pencil fragmentarily and showing theholder in section and elevation, the pin and guard being cooperativelyassociated in normal pin-guarding relationship;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the pinpoint about tobe shoved through and pressed downwardly (through a piece of cloth forexample) and at which time the guard is automatically cammed anddeflected to the left to facilitate entering the pin;

FIGURE 4 is a view based on FIGURE 3 and showing the pin in its attachedand guarded as well as final posi tion;

FIGURE 5 is a view which shows another step and which is expressly drawnto illustrate the relationship of the pin and guard when the pin isbeing manually and forcibly withdrawn from the cloth with the guardcammed to the left again (see FIG. 3) so as not to hinder the withdrawalstep; and

FIGURE 6 is a view in perspective showing a duplex type pin-equippedholder which lends itself particularly well to use in holding andpinning a bouquet of flowers or a corsage on ones apparel.

Reference will be made to FIGURES 1 to 5, inclusive. In theseillustrations the article to be embraced and supported is represented bya pencil, as at 8. The holding means, and this may be varied inconstruction, is constr-ucted and designed to frictionally or otherwiseembrace and retain a pencil or other article encircled thereby. Inparticular the means comprises an open-ended sleeve 10 constructed ofsuitable material. The integral depending pin-fastening is denoted as anentity by the numeral 12 and it comprises an inverted L-shaped pin, thatis one having a short shank :14 joined to and projecting radially fromthe surface of the sleeve and carrying a substantially rigid dependingportion which constitutes the pin proper as at 16 the free end thereofbeing pointed at 18. .The complemental clasp is denoted generally by thenumeral 26 and it comprises a flexibly resilient finger 22 the upper endof which is joined to the lower end of the sleeve, said finger beingrectangular in cross-section and of a width or cross-sectional dimensionappreciably greater than the cross-section of the pin so as to insureeifective pin-retaining results. The inherent resiliency of the fingeris such that it norrnally' assumes a deflected position relative to thesurface of the article 8 as brought out in 'FIGS. 1, 2. and 4. The lowerfree end of the finger is fashioned into a safety-type guard and amplyand fully encloses the pinpoint when in the relationship depicted inFIGS. 1, 2 and 4. More particularly there is a first oblique-angledlaterally bent portion 24 joined with an upwardly bent oblique-angledcompanion portion 26 these two portions defining a V-shaped terminal.The upper end of the second bend or bent portion 26 is again bent anddirected toward but spaced from the body of the tongue as at 2 8. A slot39 is provided in the bent portions the slot being somewhatdiamond-shaped as shown best in FIG. 1 and constituting a keeper for thepinpoint. The inherent spring properties serve to urge the finger orclasp 20 toward the relatively stationary pin 16 with the result thatthe properly lined up parts effect the desired safe-guarding action.Consequently when the pin is not in use it is safeguarded to avoidaccidents. This is also true after the pin has been applied and is beingused. For example in FIGS. 3 to 5 the numeral 32 designates a piece ofcloth or fabric which could represent any suitable support means. Thiscloth is shown with a first opening at 34 which may be said to be thetop opening, and a lower bottom opening at 35 (FIG. 4) through andbeyond which the pointed end of the pin projects. 7

In use all that is necessary is to press the pointed end of the pin intothe fabric or means 32 and in doing so the cam action which resultspresses or forces the guard from right to left. This is brought out inFIG. 3. As soon as the pinpoint passes through the opening 36 in FIG. 4the guard (26 and 28) snaps back and automatically takes itssafeguarding position and function. By considering the illustrations ina step-by-step manner beginning with FIG. 1 and ending with FIG. 5 themode of attaching and detaching the guarded pin should be clear to thereader.

The principal purpose of FIG. 6 is to emphasize again the fact that theholder is not merely a device for accommodatingly supporting andattaching pens and pencils to garments and apparel. This is to say, theinvention is capable of being satisfactorily used in connection with atent fiap (not illustrated) and allows the flap to be pinned back whenopen or pinned down when closed. Another somewhat divergent use for thedevice would be to attach the same to a fishing rod near the tip and beable to pin it to the fishermans jacket while removing a fish orreplacing a bait. In FIG. 6, to illustrate this theme of invention, aduplex adaptation is shown and used as a holder for a corsage. The openended sleeve or holding means is denoted by the numeral 38. The clasp 40comprises a flexibly resilient tongue which may be wider than the tongue20 if necessary or desired. Here again the guard means is mechanicallythe same as that already described and comprises a first bend or bentportion 42, a second oblique angled upwardly directed bend or bentportion 44 and a third or terminal bent portion 46 directed toward thesleeve with the portions 44 and 46 having an opening therein at 48 toprovide a keeper for the free pointed ends of the paired L-shapedattaching pins 50 and 52. Both pins are of the same constnuction andhave their laterally directed shank portions joined to the sleeve andtheir pointed ends normally guarded and concealed.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay beresorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

\Vhat is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An article holder which may be readily and detachably mounted on agarment or the like comprising: a sleeve, an elongated flexiblyresilient tongue connected 4 at its upper end to a lower end portion ofsaid sleeve, said tongue being flared at an oblique angle outwardly andaway from the outer periphery of said sleeve, said tongue having a freelower end with a portion bent outwardly and downwardly, an adjacentportion bent outwardly and upwardly and a terminal portion bent in adirection toward the finger, said bent portions providing asubstantially rigid V-shaped guard as Well as a pressure-responsive cam,and a substantially L-shape-d attaching and retaining pin, said pinbeing rigid and having an upper end attached to and projecting laterallyfrom a surface of said sleeve in alignment with the upper end portion ofsaid tongue, the pin proper being substantially parallel with and spacedoutwardly from said tongue and substantially commensurate in length withthe length of the tongue and having a pointed lower end releasablyseated in said keeper opening.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, and in combination, a secondsubstantially L-shaped attaching and retaining pin, said pincorresponding in construction to said first-named attaching andretaining pin and being disposed in spaced parallel relation theretowhereby to thus provide a pair of duplicate attaching and retainingpins.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS320,517 Washburn June 23, 1885 755,677 Krus Mar. 29, 1904 887,149 TarnowMay 12, 1908 1,074,927 Boye Oct. 7, 1913 1,484,461 Bayer Feb. 19, 19242,423,948 Prince July 15, 1947 2,500,367 LHeureux Mar. 14, 19502,924,085 Brooke Feb. 9, 1960

1. AN ARTICLE HOLDER WHICH MAY BE READILY AND DETACHABLY MOUNTED ON AGARMENT OR THE LIKE COMPRISING: A SLEEVE, AN ELONGATED FLEXIBLYRESILIENT TONGUE CONNECTED AT ITS UPPER END TO A LOWER END PORTION OFSAID SLEEVE, SAID TONGUE BEING FLARED AT AN OBLIQUE ANGLE OUTWARDLY ANDAWAY FROM THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID SLEEVE, SAID TONGUE HAVING A FREELOWER END WITH A PORTION BENT OUTWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY, AN ADJACENTPORTION BENT OUTWARDLY AND UPWARDLY AND A TERMINAL PORTION BENT IN ADIRECTION TOWARD THE FINGER, SAID BENT PORTIONS PROVIDING ASUBSTANTIALLY RIGID V-SHAPED GUARD AS WELL AS A PRESSURE-RESPONSIVE CAM,AND A SUBSTANTIALLY L-SHAPED ATTACHING AND RETAINING PIN, SAID PIN BEINGRIGID AND HAVING AN UPPER END ATTACHED TO AND PROJECTING LATERALLY FROMA SURFACE OF SAID SLEEVE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE UPPER END PORTION OF SAIDTONGUE, THE PIN PROPER BEING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH AND SPACEDOUTWARDLY FROM SAID TONGUE AND SUBSTANTIALLY COMMENSURATE IN LENGTH WITHTHE LENGTH OF THE TONGUE AND HAVING A POINTED LOWER END RELEASABLYSEATED IN SAID KEEPER OPENING.